Motor vehicle accessory



Oct. 7, 1941. E, HQRTON 2,258,009

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCESSORY Filed March 28, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 7,1941. E. c. HORTON MOTOR VEHICLE ACCESSORY Filed MarCh 28, 1938 3Sheets-Sheei 2 5 6 IIIIIIIJ.. lllll IILL iNvr-Njrom y 35mm C Ho'fon, Y@mMq/v ATTORNEYS .C.HORTON '28, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lled MarchPatented Oct. 7, 1941 2,258,009 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCESSORY Erwin C. Horton,

Trico Products Corporation,

Hamburg, N. Y., assignor to Buffalo, N. Y.

Application March 28, 1938, Serial No. 198,532

(Cl. 23o-e171) 6 Claims.

This invention relates to a motor vehicle accessory system and primarilyto an air pump adapted to be driven from a moving part of the vehicle toserve as a source of actuating pressure for an accessory thereof. Thepresent invention has for its object to provide a high speed, shortstroke pump wherein the parts are so mounted and disposed as tocooperate effectively in generating a reliable and uniform degree ofpressure influence at low as well as high speeds of operation of thepump.

Also, the invention resides in an improved mechanism for driving thepump piston from the motor vehicle power plant by which the installationon the latter is facilitated in a practical manner, and further theAinvention aims to provide a pump which is long lived, the parts beingso designed and combined as to make a durable pump which is economicalin manufacture.

1n the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the pump showing it operatively relatedto its drive;

Fig. 2 depicts more clearly the mounting of the Dump:

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the Dump:

Fig. 4 illustrates fragmentarily and in section the pump drive, taken online 4 4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the upper section of the pump housing,as viewed on line 5-5, Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view through one of the pump valves illustratinggenerally its action;

Fig. 7 illustrates a modified construction; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively longitudinal and transverse sectionsthrough another form of pump drive.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral i designatesthe main or cap section of the pump housing and 2 the chamber thereofwhichis alternately enlarged and ensmalled by the fluid displacingmember or piston generally indicated at 3.

The piston is of the diaphragm type and em- `bodies a pair of bodyplates 4 and 5 which have their marginal portions-embracing the inneredge of an annular webbing or diaphragm 6. The outer edge of thediaphragm is firmly held between a seat 1 in the housing section i and aseat 8 in the companion or mounting section 9. The diaphragm 6 ispreferably formed of rubber which, owing to its elastic nature, willstretch or yield'without buckling or folding during operation. Theintermediate portion of the diaphragm may be formed with a permanentarch to further guard against folding upon itself and thereby weakeningits structure. The body plates I and .5 of the piston are securedtogether at their centers by the tubular bolt i0 and its nut Il, withthe plates being spaced apart for forming a valve chamber l2 hereinafterreferred to. The tubular bolt is internally threaded to adjustablyreceive the threaded end of a connecting rod I3.

The pump chamber 2 is provided with an inlet port I4 and an outlet porti5, the latter being preferably provided in the piston and opening intothe valve chamberthereof. Each port is controlled by a valve which isflexible and freely movable in action and comprises a flat annularmember i6 held on the valve seat I8 by an overlying piece of felt i9 solight as to be readily carried with the valve without materiallyretarding its opening progress and at the same time providing a slightresiliency for urging it toward its seat. Both valves are looselyguided, the inlet valve on a boss il and the outlet valve on bolt l0. Aretaining disk 20 holds the backing felt on the inlet valve while theplate 5 of the piston Aassembly serves a like function in connectionwith the felt of the outlet valve, the plate 5 being provided with oneor more openings 2l through which the air may leave thefyalve chamberl2.

The valves are sufllciently light to float or move promptly with changesin the direction of flow of the air currents. For example, a brass valvehaving a thickness of .002 of an inch has proved practical by reason ofits quick response to directional changes in air flow. Each valve isflexible in character to render it self-conforming to its seat andthereby effect a better sealing contact between the valve and the seat,and while the valve is bodily movable to and from its operativeposition, its valving action is also reed-like with the line of bendprogressing more or less at opposite sides of its center guide dependingupon the rapidity of movement, the inertia and possibly other factorswhich retard the bodily lifting of the entire valve from its seat. Thisis especially so when the valve port is disposed to one side of theguiding boss, the air movement flexing the valve at one side from itsseat regardless of the delay in the opposite side portion of the valveto follow such given tendency. By reason of its loose mounting on theguiding boss the valve is free .to creep in a circular path aboutthelboss and thereby present an ever changing valve portion to theseat.'

The pump has a nipple fr. for connection to turned lug to release thebell crank, shown. of'

an air or suctionoperated accessory, such as a the broken lines.

windshield cleaner, and this nipple discharges As previously stated,itis linde i into a chamber at one side thereof. The inthe diaphragmback and forth di. 1 let port if? opens from the opposite side oi the 5and consequently the extent oi piston t chamber through a filter orscreen Eil. Between is small. By way of example, the total `thro theport if, and the nipple 22 the chamber may of the crank 38 whendetermined at approxibe provided with one or more baiiies 25 whichmately ,170 of an inch has been iound to be serve to dampen thepulsations. The chamber satisfactory and practical for both fast andslow 23 is accessible upon removal of a cover plate 26 lo pistonoperation without subjecting the parts to which is detachably secured asby the screw 21, unnecessary wear and tear and at the same time asuitable packing gasket 28 underlying the clogive the desired degree ofsuction or vacuum for sure plate 26. the eiiicient operation of airdriven accessories.

To dampen the exhaust noises, the piston The degree of suction oroperating pressure openings 2l are covered by a felt disk 29 within l5may be regulated by varying the clearance space the chamber 3l. Inaddition, a brous body 32, in the pump chamber. This is accomplishedwhich is composed of a stack of lightly ielted herein by adjusting theeffective length of the disks and is enclosed by the spring 3U aboutconconnecting rod I3 whereby the uppermost posinecting rod I3, serves tomuflie the exhaust from tion of the piston may be determined. The morechamber 3l by way of an openingr 33 through 20 the clearance in chamber2 is reduced at the Which the COHIleCIlg rod I3 freely moves unuppermostposition of the piston, the greater will guided by the Walls thereof.The disk 29 is held be the degree of vacuum produced by the pump. inposition by a retainer 34 on which the upper The lower end of thecomposite connecting rod end of the spring seats. The connecting rod maybe joined to a bearing sleeve 58 by a transjoins a lever 35 fulcrumed atone end on a sup- 25 verse pivot pin 65 which permits a certain Dort 36Ori the mounting Section Of the hOUSng, amount of relative movementincidental to the While the'opposite end of the lever is providedunguided reciprocation of the connecting rod. l

with a Shoe 31 fOr riding 0n a driving crank or For greater efficiencyand durability, the roller eccentric 38. An oil retaining felt 39 iscarried 58 (or sleeve 58') is provided with spaced bushby this lever tolubricate the fulcrum as well as 30 ings 66 enclosing a lubricatingmember 61 of the connecting rod bearing. porous bronze (Fig. 4) or itmay be an oil satu- The pump is operated from the motor vehicle ratedfelt body 61' (Figs. 8 and 9), the supply of DOWer plant, Such as fromthe fan belt 40 or from lubricant being conveniently replenished throughthe shaft 4l of the generator 42. For deriving suitableapertures.

power from the fan belt a pulley 43 is provided 35 The divided bushing66 is preferably formed of on the drive shaft 44 which carries the crankoil impregnated wood since it stands up well at 38. The shaft isjournaled in a bearing sleeve high speed and requires littlelubrication. How- 45 on the mounting section, and this sleeve is ever,wood is a poor conductor of heat and when removably clamped in a seat 46on the bracket the pump is operating at a speed of several thou- 47, asShOWn in Fig. 2. The bracket may be C011- 40 sand revolutions a minutethe heat generated Verlierltly mounted so as to have the pulley 43 wouldordinarily be so great as to readily impair properly bear on the belt.Where the generator the bearing. To avoid this, means are provided 49 byen arm 50 t0 Whleh latter the ear 1S adas comprising a heat conductingrod 68 which justably fastened with bolt 5I, the pump bracket 45 willreadily absorb and transmit the heat from 41 may be anchored by thelatter fastener and, the crank pin and maintain the latter at a combyreason of the bracket feet 52 and 53 resting at parativeiy iowtemperature. The heat conductopposite sides of the bolt on the generatorhousing rod may be of aluminum, by way of example,

ing-a tri-point support is provided for the pump and is ntted into anaxial bore formed in the bracket. This Support is made firm and secureouter end of the crank, such heat transmitting with a set screw 54which, when turned against pin extending sufficiently into the crank pinto solidly on the housing. end of the heat transmitting rod is a heatdis- The drive shaft 44 is mounted in porous bronze 55 sipating disk E8which may have its heat disor like bushings 55 pressed into the oppositeends charging capacity increased by being radially Of the bearing SleeVe45, and between these bllShslitted at intervals and having the dividedpor- 'ings a lubricant chamber 58 is provided into tions odset toincrease the air flow f'hereover for which a quantity of the lubricantmay be forced greater heat dissipation, as shown at B9', Fig. 8. throughthe nipple 51. A roller 58 is freely ro- 60 This provides a simple andeffective means for tatable on the driving crank 38 to ease itsenmaintaining the crank bearing cool and thus gagement with the shoe 31,which engagement avoid burning out the bearing while operating may beDreVeIled, aS ShOWIl irl Fig- 7, by manualat excessively high speeds ofrotation, the power swing the bell crank 62 against the adjacent endcured together in any suitable manner. as by of pump lever 35 and removethe shoe 31' from screws 1D, or one housing section may be formed theeccentric roller 58. During this tensioning with hooks 13 for detachablyanchoring the bail movement the bell crank 62 is restrained by a 70 1Iwhich carries a set screw 12 to exert clamping down turned lug 63 on thelatter engaging a pressure on the two sections.

shoulder 64 on the lever 6U, the shoulder being The pump is eiiicient inoperation because vof long enough to restrain the bell crank until thethe light valve bodies which readily flex vand spring has been properlytensioned, following move bodily both axially as well as transversely.which the shoulder rides from beneath the down- 0 The fibrous backingmay be dispensed with but aesaooa it is desired because it tends towardquietness in operation and provides a slightly resilient support for thevalve. This felt is very lightly matted and consequently placespractically no additional burden on the valve.

While the foregoing description has been given in detail it is merelyillustrative of the inventive principles involved which may be appliedto other physical embodiments without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention claimed,

What is claimed is:

1. An air pump having a chamber, a piston having an annular iiexiblebody secured about its periphery to the wall of the chamber and a pairof body plates clamping the inner edge or the body and held spaced apartthereby to form a valve compartment between Athe plates, an air floatedvalve loosely confined in the compartment for controlling the airmovement therethrough, said valve being free of the plates and bodilymovable therebetween, and means for actuating the piston.

2. An air pump having a chamber, a piston having an annular flexiblebody secured about its periphery to the wall of the chamber and a pairof body plates clamping the inner edge of the body and held spaced apartthereby to form a valve compartment between the plates, an air floatedvalve loosely confined in the compartment and bodily movable between theplates, an actuating lever, an unguided connection between the lever andthe piston whereby the body plates may rock as well as move axiallywithin the flexible body, and means for oscillating the lever.

3. A pump having a reciprocable fluid displacing member, and means foractuating the dis# placing member, said means including a driving crank,a power transmitting member encircling the crank and bearing directlythereon for relative rotary movement, and a heat conducting pinextending axially from within the crank and projecting from the endthereof free of said power transmitting member.

#j {Ld} Li. A pump having a reiproc'able uid displacing member, andmeans for actuating the displacing member, said means including adriving crank, means operatively connecting the crank to the displacingmember including a iibrous member bearing directly on the crank.l iorrelative rotary movement, a heat conducting pin within the crank andextending axially therefrom through one end thereof, and a heatdissipating disk carried by the pin outwardly beyond and spaced from theencircling member.

5. A high speed air pump having a chamber and an air displacing memberoperable therein, said displacing member having a rigid central portionand a stretchable marginal portion, the outer edge of the marginalportion being an chored to the chamber wall, means connected to thecentral portion for supporting and reciprocating the same wholly to oneside of the plane of anchorage and with a short stroke, the marginalportion being supported taut at all times, and air passages for thechamber having valve means for providing uni-directional now of airthrough the chamber, the valve means for each passage comprising a thinbody' responsive to rapid changes in air flow through the passage andsupported to one side of the 'passage for bodily movement, the bodybeing also ilexible to yield in addition to the bodily movement for moreready response to such changes in air ilow.

6. A pump having a reciprocable fluid displacing member and means foractuating the displacing member, said means including a driving crank, apower transmitting member encircling the crank, a fibrous oilimpregnated bushing interposed betweenthe crank and the encirclingmember, a heat conducting pin extending axially from within the crankthrough the free end portion thereof, and a porous heat conducting partforming a portion of the fibrous bushing substantially midway betweenits ends and having metal contact with the crank and said encirclingmember to serve to conduct heat away from the crank.

ERWIN C. HORTON.

